PAXIL: DOUBLE RATE OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN PREGNANT MOTHERS

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PAXIL: DOUBLE RATE OF BIRTH DEFECTS IN PREGNANT MOTHERS

 

Australian authorities have just warned that mothers taking Paxil (paroxetine)

are going to be suffering far more depression as they learn that the drug they

were taking to make them feel better has TWICE the chance of producing a birth

defect in their unborn child. As a result the agency, Therapeutic Goods

Administration (TGA - similar to our FDA), has reclassified Paxil from a grade C

to a grade D drug - one that should be avoided during pregnancy.

 

The new warnings for Paxil and other SSRIs are spelled out in the following

quote:

" Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a higher

incidence of congenital malformations, particularly ventricular septal defects,

in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

" Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy were 2.2

times more likely to be born with a congenital malformation and 2.08 times more

likely to have a cardiovascular malformation than those born to women taking

other antidepressants, the data showed.

 

" A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in cardiac

abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs. "

 

Now I will remind you that when you hear a warning about one drug in a class of

drugs that are designed to work in the same way DO NOT EVER think that just

because the drug you are taking is spelled differently and has a different

chemical makeup that the result may be different!! The thing is that the drug

works in the same manner - the end result is the same, not different. And the

definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and

expecting a different result.

 

Every time I see doctors take a patient reacting to one SSRI antidepressant and

switch them to another and then another and yet another, as they so often do, I

wonder why they think they are going to get a different response. It is insane!

So when you hear a warning on one of these drugs expect to sooner or later hear

similar warnings on the other antidepressants. Red flags going up on one of them

should be a red flag for the others in the same class that work in a similar

way. Paxil may have raised red flags first because it has a stronger effect upon

the reuptake of serotonin, but over time you will get the same effect with one

not as strong.

 

Because Celexa and Lexapro are even more powerful on serotonin reuptake that

should make them potentially more deadly in producing side effects yet, notice

here that the doctor they have interviewed to defend the antidepressants has

suggested that these drugs are safer.

 

Also please note that this agency has warned that Effexor be avoided during

pregnancy due to the severe withdrawal the baby suffers. Other warnings are also

listed on withdrawal in babies produced by the other antidepressants.

Dr. Tracy

______________________

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director, International Coalition For Drug

Awareness www.drugawareness.org Author of the " Bible on Antidepressants, "

Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare & audio " Help! I Can't Get

Off My Antidepressant! "

(Order: 800-280-0730)

_________________________

 

http://news.australiandoctor.com.au/articles/41/0c036641.asp

First trimester antidepressant risk

15-Sep-2005

By Tony James

THE antidepressant paroxetine should be avoided during pregnancy because it may

double the rate of birth defects, the Therapeutic Goods Administration warns.

 

Details from a preliminary analysis of GlaxoSmithKline data showed a higher

incidence of congenital malformations, particularly ventricular septal defects,

in babies born to women taking the drug.

 

Babies of women taking paroxetine in the first trimester of pregnancy were 2.2

times more likely to be born with a congenital malformation and 2.08 times more

likely to have a cardiovascular malformation than those born to women taking

other antidepressants, the data showed.

 

A second population-based Danish study found a 60% increase in cardiac

abnormalities among babies of mothers taking SSRIs.

 

Although the link may not be causal, the TGA has reclassified paroxetine from a

pregnancy category C drug to a category D drug, recommending it be avoided in

pregnancy.

 

Responding to the findings, psychiatrist Associate Professor Anne Buist,

director of the beyondblue national postnatal depression program, emphasised the

need to weigh up the risks of inadequately treated prenatal depression against

the adverse effects of medications.

 

Ideally, antidepressants should be avoided in pregnancy, but prenatal depression

can also be associated with difficulties in child rearing, developmental delays

and later depression in the child, she said.

 

Although rare, maternal suicide is a leading cause of maternal death.

 

Data from thousands of women treated with fluoxetine suggested it might increase

the risk of premature birth, so on current evidence sertraline (Zoloft) or

citalopram (Celapram, Cipramil) were probably the best choices when an

antidepressant was considered essential before or during pregnancy, Professor

Buist said.

 

Venlafaxine (Efexor) should be avoided, because of withdrawal syndromes in

newborns and unsuitability while breastfeeding, she said. Generally, SSRIs

should be tapered especially those with a short half-life such as paroxetine to

avoid a discontinuation syndrome unless immediately commencing another SSRI.